Some Reflections on
Ministry in the Academy
Chris Barrett
Department of Applied Economics & Management
Cornell University
Prepared for the Upstate New York
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Faculty Conference
April 5, 2003
Discovery Zone Metaphor
The Academic Calling
“Every one to whom much is given, of him will
much be required; and of him to whom men
commit much they will demand the more.”
(Luke 12:48)
We receive much from God and from other
people – talents, education, love, respect,
freedom, – and so we are required to give
much back. We are also unmistakably flawed
and must learn how to put our flaws to good
use. (Parable of the cracked pot)
Our Baptismal Obligation
Prophet: We must accept our talents and use them wisely
(Matthew 25), even if our labor is not always for righteous
masters (1 Peter 2). We must serve diligently and humbly,
speaking truth to power when needed and not indulging in
self-pity, much as Daniel did in the court of Nebuchadnezzar.
Priest: Ever mindful of our sinfulness, we are called to
contribute to the sanctification of the world from within, like
leaven, to manifest Christ to others through teaching,
forgiveness and reconciliation.
King: Serve God and one another (Matthew 20), providing for
the public good and supporting/empowering those over whom
we hold some dominion.
Teaching
Jesus’ disciples called him “teacher”. It is an extraordinary honor
to get to shape young minds and hearts, to try to help young
people discern God’s will for them, uncover the talents He has
bestowed on them, and summon the courage to venture into a
sometimes hostile and cynical world speaking truth and struggling
to resist evil.
Ken Elzinga: http://www.people.virginia.edu/%7Ekge8z/teach.html
AEM 200: Contemporary Controversies in the Global Economy
But also AEM 411, AEM 762, AEM 765, IA620 and others
Advising
Pushing undergraduates to experience Cornell fully:
Parable of the rocks and the jar.
Acculturation of graduate students: the transition from
student to scholar
Grace:
Each student is special because they are created
in God’s image, not because of what they can
create. But need to help them seek out and
identify God’s will for them, the special gifts
they’ve been given.
Discipleship
We must not only teach, we must continue learning.
When we grow too comfortable, too sure of
ourselves, then we should grow worried.
Continually need to mature in our understanding of
God’s calling for us and of our relation to His
creation.
Hence the need for ongoing research, for updating
our curricula, for taking on new challenges and for
abandoning comfortable patterns
Research
If we are called to be scholars, then we should embrace
the call to scholarship and do it to the best of our Godgiven abilities.
Many parts of the one body: my research on poverty is
no greater service to God than David Ng’s on finance.
We each serve best by heeding God’s call to us.
Seek and profess the truth, whether or not it is popular.
Know your audience (speaking in tongues?)
Service and Outreach
The corporate project of discovering and being a witness
to truth. This applies to mundane tasks no less than to
glamorous ones. We all stand on the shoulders of giants.
The O-ring theory.
“The Ministry of Referees And Discussants”
(Faith & Economics essay with David Mustard)
They’ll know we are Christians by our love … (but that
doesn’t mean be a patsy). Service can be a spiritual
discipline, forcing us to put the common good ahead of
immediate personal gratification.
Saying “yes” to God but not necessarily to every person
who asks.
Public Profession of Faith
Professional advantage or “martyrdom”?
There are both tangible costs and benefits to public
profession of faith.
Each must choose his or her own path: there are
many good ways through the Discovery Zone.
Holism
Take care of your family and take care of yourself.
People and probabilities:
whose lives can you must effectively touch in
Christ’s name? Family, students, staff and
colleagues. Take time with them, pray for them,
treat them kindly and fairly.
Kipling:
“If you can fill the unforgiving minute
with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run
Then yours is the earth and all that’s in it
And, which is more, you’ll be a man, my son”
Academic Ministry
We are called to an incredible privilege
Duty to seek out God’s will for us and to follow,
to serve in our various functions with
compassion, energy, and a thirst for His truth
Ministry as a prophet, priest and king